That explained the foliage and the scratches, anyway, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come up with something Brandon had been doing on a road that dead-ended into a swamp. If people had been disappearing, I’d say he was disposing of bodies, but no one was missing that I was aware of.
Ida Belle took another drink of soda, then continued. “When I got close to the end of the road, I could see his truck through the brush. He was parked in a bit of a clearing that looked like it had been made from people turning their vehicles around. He was still sitting in the truck, but I couldn’t get any closer without him seeing me approach, so I climbed a tree, figuring it would give me a vantage point to see what he did.”
“What if he’d seen you?” Gertie asked.
Ida Belle shrugged. “I figured he wouldn’t be likely to look up without a reason. It was a calculated risk. Part of me yelled that I needed to turn around and get out of there, but the other part of me couldn’t leave without knowing what Peaches was in for.”
Gertie frowned but she didn’t belabor her point. The reality was, if she’d been there, she wouldn’t have hesitated to scale a tree either.
“What did you see?” I asked.
“He was using a laptop,” Ida Belle said. “I couldn’t see what was on the screen, but his cell phone was sitting on the dash and he had it attached.”
“Oh no,” I said as my shoulders slumped.
“What does that mean?” Gertie asked.
“He probably had his laptop tethered to his phone,” I said. “So that he could get an Internet connection.”
Gertie looked confused. “But why would he drive out into the middle of nowhere to get on the…” Her eyes widened. “You don’t think…he’s not…”
“He’s the catfish,” I said. “Damn it.”
“Maybe there’s another explanation,” Gertie said.
Ida Belle shook her head. “If there is, I can’t think of it. Why else would he be on his laptop in the middle of the swamp when he’s supposed to be on his boat? Where is all that money coming from? We know he lied about big shrimp running.”
“He’d be in a position to know everyone in Sinful,” I said, “and make a good guess as to their financial positions.”
Gertie paled. “But—”
“He was in the perfect position to know about the trellis, too,” I said. “And Gail’s comings and goings.”
“I can’t believe it,” Gertie said. “I’ve known Brandon his entire life. He sometimes shoots off his mouth without thinking and he had the normal scraps in school that boys do with each other, but I can’t believe he’d murder someone.”
“Believe me,” Ida Belle said, “I don’t like it any better than you do.”
“There has to be something we’re missing,” Gertie said.
I didn’t blame her for being upset. I barely knew Peaches and didn’t know Brandon at all, but the entire thing made me feel ill.
Ida Belle’s phone rang and she pulled it out. “It’s Myrtle.”
She answered the call and a couple seconds later, her eyes widened. “You’re kidding,” she said. “Are you sure? Yes, of course. Okay.”
The conversation went on for several minutes as Gertie and I sat there anxiously waiting for her to get off the call and fill us in. Myrtle was on night shift at the sheriff’s department, so that meant that whatever she was telling was police business.
Finally, Ida Belle hung up and looked at us. “Carter just apprehended the catfish, and it’s not Brandon Dugas.”
“What?”
“Who is it?”
Gertie and I both sounded off at once.
“Derrick Miller,” Ida Belle said.
“Really?” Gertie said. “Are you sure?”
“Who’s Derrick Miller?” I asked.
“He’s a local,” Ida Belle said. “Works construction and inherited the land next to Beulah. He’s always been trouble, but the usual sort. Apparently, Beulah made some fuss with him over property lines and dogs and he was out a good bit of money before it was over. He saw the show and thought he’d mess with her. He claims he never thought she’d really send him the money.”
“So he has the money?” Gertie asked.
Ida Belle nodded. “He transferred it from PayPal to his bank account.”
“And the underwear?” Gertie asked.
Ida Belle frowned. “Myrtle didn’t say and I didn’t ask.”
“How did Carter find him?” I asked.
“Derrick was bragging at the Swamp Bar,” Ida Belle said, “and someone called in the tip hoping for some reward money.”
“So he got easy money out of Beulah and he couldn’t stop?” Gertie asked. “Did Gail figure out it was him?”
Ida Belle shook her head. “That’s just it. He swears Beulah is the only person he catfished. When Carter accused him of Gail’s murder, he started yelling at Carter that he wasn’t going to be railroaded for murder just so Carter could look good.”
“So what do you think?” I asked. “Is this Derrick capable of killing someone?”
“Given the right circumstances,” Ida Belle said, “we’re all capable, but he’s always short on cash. If he figured out that he could scam women out of money, I don’t think he’d stop with one.”
“And if someone found him out?” I asked.